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Inc. announced today that it has sold its corporate headquarters--1.1 million square feet of office space at prestigious Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle--for $1.3 billion. The media company is moving west, to become the anchor tenant at the tallest tower in Hudson Yards.

The deal means that billionaire Stephen Ross can begin construction on 30 Hudson Yards, at the southwest corner of 10th Avenue and 33rd Street. That tower is slated to rise 80 stories and stretch 1,227 feet in the sky, making it the 4th-tallest building in New York City. The 2.6 million square foot building will boast the city’s highest outdoor observation deck; its lobby will be situated right off the entrance to the new No. 7 subway stop at Tenth Avenue and Hudson Boulevard. Thanks to the deal, construction will start on the platform for the tower in a couple of weeks, said a spokesperson for Ross's development group The Related Companies.

Meanwhile, a joint venture of Ross's The Related Companies with GIC, the organization that manages Singapore's foreign reserves, and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, an investment arm of that government, are buying Time Warner's office space. The joint entity will lease the Columbus Circle space back to Time Warner until as late as early 2019

Hudson Yards rendering (Credit: The Related Companies)

Time Warner currently owns and leases space in seven New York metro area buildings, chairman and CEO Jeff Bewkes said in a statement. "By consolidating our space to Hudson Yards, New York’s next great neighborhood, we will be able to reallocate substantial savings to our primary business of creating and sharing great storytelling in television, film, and journalism with audiences around the world.”This appears to be media moving week. Just Tuesday, news broke that FORBES is also moving--to New Jersey.

The Related Companies led the development of the 2.8 million-square-foot Time Warner Center, which opened in 2004. The mixed-use development includes shops and restaurants, office space, a hotel and and residences, including Stephen Ross's personal home. Related continues to own much of the center, including the condominiums.

When Time Warner moves west to 30 Hudson Yards, the media company expects to bring along some 5,000 employees from its Time Warner, HBO, Turner Broadcasting, and Warner Bros. businesses. Its neighbors at the adjacent 10 Hudson Yards, which began construction in December 2012, will include Inc., L’Oreal USA, and Fairway Market.

Hudson Yards is the largest private real estate development in U.S. history and the largest development in New York City since Rockefeller Center. It will include 17 million square feet of commercial and residential space, 100 shops and restaurants, 5,000 residences, 14 acres of public open space, a new 750-seat public school and a 150-room luxury hotel.